Thursday, August 25, 2016

It was the other girl. The one who didn't like him. Starry? She regarded him through half-closed eyes, almost more catlike than the cat from before.

“I thought you were off somewhere today.”

She shrugged. “And now I'm back. A friend of my dad's is in this band so I said I'd come listen.”

“Where's she gone?”

“Home.” The word seemed oddly heavy with meaning.

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A sample of a full-page art piece by Ginger Hoesly (and some of the accompanying text by Kara Dennison) featuring Stormy Nakabito and Herne from the first Owl's Flower book. Be sure to go and check out Ginger's post over on her Tumblr!

And come back tomorrow for a compilation of some of the sneak peeks of other pieces!

Ms. Waters is living just as she'd like to: her own home, her own schedule, and the companionship of her three cats. Hapi, Bast, and Anubis generally understand who's in charge of the house, but they're also cats. And so their relationship with the lady of the house tends to be one of mutual begrudging understanding.

While she prefers staying in as much as possible, Ms. Waters does make monthly trips to the seaside. The fact that she tends to cue them to the full moon has led to neighborhood kids insisting she's a werewolf, but no one's come up with any particularly compelling proof of this. By her own account, she just likes the beach at high tide.

She's as close to a mother figure locally as Iris really has, and does raise an eyebrow at the younger woman's workaholic tendencies. Still, she's more concerned for Iris's happiness and well-being than anything else. The two are friends, but that friendship usually manifests in the form of Iris receiving advice from her elders.

Even though she's not especially young, Ms. Waters somehow still manages to seem wise beyond her years.

DISLIKES: Public displays of affection, hot weather, whatever you're into right now

Stormy is the daughter of a successful Japanese dressmaker and a significantly less successful American bassist — hence her dad and herself taking her mother's surname. Despite her family being well off enough that her mother supports all of them, Stormy opts to work at Owl's Flower full-time during the summer and part-time when school is in.

Her default setting is "blasé," but that's not necessarily out of disgust at the people around her. It can be, but not necessarily. Despite her seeming boredom at whatever and whomever she's around, she's a keen observer and can often read more from a situation than those who seem more involved. Her deadpan humor can often be mistaken as her genuine sentiment by those who don't know her.

While Stormy may seem actively disrespectful of her boss, she actually likes and respects Iris a great deal and would defend her in a heartbeat if the situation demanded it. Which is why she's more than a little skeptical of the boss-lady's new boyfriend, who seems mystified by everything from smartphones to the concept of putting sugar in coffee.

Iris turned her love of baking and her knack for organization into a business: Owl's Flower, a small coffee shop and bakery with a staff of two. While they aren't blowing the doors off daily, they do have a comfortable enough sized clientele that she's been going successfully for several years.

While Iris is impassioned about her work, she can tend to get tunnel vision when it comes to her job. This means little to no time for outside friendships, relationships or hobbies. Save for her occasional marathons of cooking shows and looking after a neighbor's cats, she doesn't engage in much that doesn't entail her job — until Owl's Flower gains an unexpected regular in the form of the town's local legend.

Outside of work (when she lets herself do things outside work), Iris is clever, creative, and a quick learner. And even when faced with the unexpected — whether it's a rush of customers or an otherworldly being — it never takes her long to come up with a plan.

The concept of a genius loci is an ancient one that exists across multiple cultures and religions, and refers to a demigod who serves as the protector spirit of a certain location.

Herne has watched over the few dozen square miles of forest that slowly developed into the town of Williams Grove ever since he was a young demigod. His role has changed over the centuries as the town has grown, though; while his early duties were limited to natural issues and very rare human confrontations, his role in the modern world involves everything from protecting the locals from supernatural threats to quietly overseeing any construction that could encroach too far into the remaining forest.

Herne's "home," such as it is, is in a large live oak at the center of one of the town's larger forested areas. His actions over the years have led to legends of a "Forest King" who protects travelers from the dangers of the woods, and thus it has become superstition to leave small gifts at the foot of the tree. Herne keeps some of these things and takes others to local consignments or shelters.

Because of his increasing closeness to humans by necessity, Herne has had occasional human friends. These relationships have taught him to blend in -- which largely involves hiding his massive wings and antlers -- so that he can walk among the locals for either work or amusement. In recent years, though, he has done his best to keep a distance for his own sake.

But that all changes when someone leaves a cookie from Owl's Flower, the local coffee shop, at the foot of his tree.